[centre][b][h1][color=a36209]Alessea[/color] and [color=00746b]Quinton[/color][/h1][/b][/centre] [hr][hr] Quinton stroked Abigale’s hair a moment, before letting her go occupy Remus, as he searched for what he needed to clean up a bit, moving whatever had been knocked off back up as he came to it, thinking that it might not be a good idea to go to the cafe-that had been busy the day before and was like to be again, although he had thought that he had heard something about a camping trip, so maybe it wouldn't be busy. Still, Quinton would prefer something a little more...adult than the cafe. [color=00746b]"There's a restaurant in town, near the bed and breakfast. We could go there..? The cafe always seems so busy"[/color] Quinton said, quickly tidying up-mainly the food because that didn't need to be on the ground-he quickly rounded up Abigale, and hefting the wolf-dog pup, he started off, thinking to drop both off at the bed and breakfast and hope it would be okay. They stopped at a store, and grabbing a leash, Quinton put it on Remus, staring at him when the pup looked like chewing through it, until Remus glanced away. With some food for him, Quinton continued onto the bed and breakfast, and speaking for a moment, he gave Abigale a hug and made her promise to behave and watch over Remus. There was a chance he wouldn't come back, before going out to the woods. He glanced towards the teens gathering, with their gear, and gave them a brief wave, not wanting to interrupt, when he would then be keeping Alessea waiting, he noted the pink haired girl, remembering what Alessea had said. [i]So that's a siren? She seems so...pink and innocent[/i]. With a last glance to Abigale, now hugging Remus, and gave her a smile, before walking on towards the restaurant. ..the Italian place..? Turning her head around, Alessea watched on as he left her alone in the the garage, both Remus and Abigale following along in tow, causing her to just stand there watching on until their figures had completely disappeared from sight. He wanted to take her to Lupino..? The name in itself was more than ironic considering what they were; and the place was nice enough, though it wasn’t the sort of place you would go with friends on a whim, so did this mean..? Was this a..? Was this a date..? The very thought had her cheeks flushing a light shade of red. Pulling her attention away from where their figures had retreated quite some time ago, she turned her gaze back to the food that Quinton had picked up not long ago, her mind seeming to wander as she gathered what was left of it up before she began to make her way back to her office, being sure to dump the now ruined food into the bin before slipping through the door, she closed it behind her, making sure to pull the blinds on the windows before she began to get changed, [color=a36209]“..now remember, Sea… this is [i]not[/i] a date…”[/color] Quinton waited outside the restaurant, checking his phone to make sure it was on, unable to help himself being paranoid that Abigale would get in trouble, before putting the phone away. He leaned against the wall, thoughtful. Having not been in town long, Quinton didn't even know what the restaurant was like but figured it had to be better then food thrown on the floor. Suddenly nervous, for reasons he didn't even know, he glanced about, wondering if he should have waited for Alessea. Was he even in the right place? What was wrong with him? He gave a sigh, and ran a hand through his hair, and tried to relax as he waited. [color=a36209]“..apologies..!”[/color] Slowing her pace as she rounded the corner, Alessea couldn’t help the soft and gentle smile that crossed over her lips as her gaze met with Quinton’s, her hands both coming together in front of her stomach as she came to a stop in front of him- after having repeated over and over to herself that this was [i]not[/i] a date, but having changed several times for it anyway before finally settling on the perfect dress to go to lunch in, she was finally happy with how she looked. Lifting her hand up from where she had it in front of her stomach, she gently used her fingers to lightly brush some of her long and wavy dark locks back, neatly tucking them behind her ear as she lowered her other arm back down to her side, her body shifting nervously on the spot before she motioned towards the door leading into the restaurant, [color=a36209]“..shall we..?”[/color] Quinton looked over as Alessea approached, starting to give her a smile, which seemed to freeze in a half smile, as he took in her appearance. It simply seemed to scream, [i]this is a date[/i], and he felt turned upside down. A date? Had he landed a date, without meaning to? Suddenly more than a little nervous- he hadn’t been on any sort of date in over three years, running with a young child didn’t give many opportunities for that, after all- [color=00746b]“Uh, sure”[/color] He said, around a suddenly dry mouth, moving to open the door for her, holding it open so she could pass through. [color=00746b]“Um. You look lovely”[/color] That look on his face… oh God, had she done something wrong already..? It was the dress. It [i]had[/i] to be the dress; he didn’t like it, she knew she should have gone with the oth-... Relax Sea; remember, this is [i]not[/i] a date… who cares what you wear..? [color=a36209]“..o-oh, uh… thank you…”[/color] Unable to hide the way that her cheeks were turning a gentle shade of red, Alessea bit down on the inside of her lip, her dark gaze dropping down and turning away from him as she once more began to move, her feet carrying her inside and out of the way of the door so that he could join her before she turned to the waiter moving towards them, a single hand lifting so that she could hold up two fingers, letting him know how many of them there was before she glanced back at Quinton, shooting him a small and uncharacteristically shy smile before she turned and began to follow the waiter to their table, her body lowering down as she scooted herself into the booth and around to make room for him as well. Her behaviour seemed to reinforce the [i]this is a date[/i] idea that was now, essentially, seared into his brain. Surely, she wouldn’t be so...nervous, if it was just friends, just lunch between pack mates. It just seemed so uncharacteristic of her, or at least what he had seen so far. Sliding into the booth beside her, Quinton was quite aware of how close that put them. Which only served to fluster Quinton more then the idea that this [i]was[/i] a date. Was it? Maybe he should clarify...but that just seemed like a recipe for awkwardness, because if she said no, then he’d feel like a right fool, and if she said yes, it would break the atmosphere. So he didn’t ask. He realised he had probably been silent for a while now, so he said, probably quite lamely, [color=00746b]“Its a nice place, have you been here before?”[/color] [color=a36209]“..huh..? Oh, yeah… a few times in the past, but not for a while… from what I can remember, they have pretty good food here though…”[/color] Totally not a date… or was it..? His behaviour was hard to pick, and if she blatantly came out and asked him whether or not it was, then that was only going to make her look like a fool either way he answered. No, she was just better off keeping her mouth shut, and just going with the flow… she could do that, right..? [color=a36209]“So, uh, what-... what made you choose this place..?”[/color] Turning her head, Alessea let her dark gaze lift up to meet with his, and it was only then that she noticed just how close they were to each other. It was like the incident in the garage all over again, except this time, she was wrapped up in his strong… muscular arms… Was it getting warm, or was it just her..? Feeling her cheeks flush red in color once more, she tore her attention away from him, letting it settle instead upon the water glass that sat in front of her on the table, her hand reaching out and picking it up so that she could take a sip or two of the cool liquid. Calm down, Sea… again, not a date… [color=00746b]“Aside from the fact it's close to the bed and breakfast? It's the only restaurant I’ve seen in town”[/color] Quinton said, and realised that that probably wasn’t a very date-like answer, but it was the truth. His voice trailed off slightly as their gazes met. For a moment, he didn’t think he could turn his attention away, both relieved and disappointed when Alessea broke the contact. Taking the chance to take a sip of water himself, he was quite sure now that it [i]was[/i] a date, but there was that doubt. What if it was a misunderstanding? Wanting for the moment at least, to not feel so awkward, nervous, he tried to bring back what now seemed like the easy conversation from early. [color=00746b]“So...have you always lived here?”[/color] That could be considered normal, right? He felt so far out of depth, and was just trying to make a good impression. He was trying to make conversation; did that mean he was as nervous as she was..? Taking a few moments longer with her glass of water, she eventually lowered it back down to the table, her hand resting over it and her fingers tracing nonsense patterns into the tablecloth as she shook her head lightly from side to side in response, her long dark locks brushing back and forth over her back thanks to the action. [color=a36209]“..originally, I am from Barcelona in Spain. It it where I was born; but as you can probably tell from earlier, I am only part Spanish…”[/color] Letting her hand come to a complete rest over the tablecloth, she turned her head back around, her gaze once more lifting to meet with his, [color=a36209]“My father was from Africa; he is the one who taught me how to speak Swahili. I moved here quite a few years ago now… never really looked back. And what about you..? I know you are not from around here…”[/color] A little relieved that the conversation seemed to be flowing, even slightly, Quinton said [color=00746b]“I was born in Arizona, and lived there until the hunter came, and attacked my old pack. There was a brief time I lived away, at college, but mostly it was Arizona”[/color] He said, giving a slight sigh. it seemed so long ago, rather than the three years it had been. [color=00746b]“Since then, it’s been...everywhere and nowhe-...”[/color] [color=a36209]“..is this a date..?”[/color] The words seemed to slip through her lips before she could stop them, cutting him off before he even had a chance of finishing off his sentence. She had been listening… really she had been; but the conversation, no matter how much she wanted to learn about him, was nothing that could stop her from thinking- no, more like arguing internally with herself over whether or not that was what this was… a date… [color=a36209]“I-I-... apologies… I did not mean-...”[/color] This time knowing for a fact that there was no chance of hiding the way that her cheeks were now almost glowing a bright red in color, Alessea tore her gaze away from his, instead choosing to stare away and rather intently at the tablecloth of the table beside them rather than at him, [color=a36209]“..please, just forget I said anything…”[/color] The sudden question threw Quinton off, when he’d just felt-okay hoped-he was back on track. He had no idea what to answer, when he didn’t even know. He could say no, and quite probably not have another chance-was that even what he wanted?-or he could say yes… He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Clearing his throat, he tried again, [color=00746b]“I...I’d like it to be”[/color] That seemed like a safe option, or so he hoped. He… wanted this to be a date..? Lifting her head back up as his answer took a few moments to settle in her mind, Alessea slowly let her attention turn back over to him, her gaze lifting once more to meet with his and her soft lips parting ever so slightly as she searched his eyes, trying her best to find even the tiniest speck that he was lying or messing around with her, though all she saw was honesty behind his words. He really meant what he said… he really would like for it to be a date. Biting down softly upon her lower lip, she chewed on it for a second or two, the corners of her mouth once more turning up into a rather uncharacteristically shy smile as she nodded lightly in response, [color=a36209]“..I-... I would like that too…”[/color] Quinton smiled at her words, relieved, but now not knowing what to do at all. It seemed having somewhat confirmed what this was, he now didn’t even know what to say. His thoughts drifted, for a brief moment, to Abigale, but quite oddly, he didn’t feel worried. Coming back to the moment, Quinton said softly, [color=00746b]“I’m more than glad about that”[/color] Which was true, yet it seemed quite a lame thing to say. He really had no idea what he was doing anymore. Her smile grew, she couldn’t help it, and with his words she felt herself sliding along the booth, her body twisting slightly as she scooted closer in against him, her cheeks still practically glowing from the blush as she reached forward, pulling one of the two menus towards them before opening it up for the both of them to look over. She was happy… for once- it had been a long time since she was happy just being with a guy, enjoying their company… Quinton was a great guy from what she could tell about him, and he was going to make an amazing beta as well; but werewolves or not, right now, they were just two people enjoying their first date together. Pressing herself just that little bit closer against him, she turned her head back, her gaze lifting up and over her shoulder so that she was able to look up at him, [color=a36209]“..did you have an idea of what you wanted to eat..?”[/color] Almost tentatively, Quinton slid his arm around her, and shook his head, “[color=00746b]Not at all. But pizza is always a safe bet”[/color] He said thoughtfully, studying the menu a moment, looking up at the sound of footsteps, the waiter obviously thought they were ready to order-maybe the menu was a sign. Or maybe the waiter just hoped to speed things up a bit. [b]“Are you ready for me to take your order, or would you like a few more minutes?”[/b]